Critique of the Anti-Grimm

‘The Anti-Grimm’ (2012) is an article written by A.C. and published in The Economist website, a reputable global magazine with renowned writers and reporters. The author quotes experts in the study of fairy tales without providing specific credentials. For example, the quoting of ‘Bruno Bettelheim’ (para.8), ‘Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Anderson’ (para.8), indicates that the target audience of this article are individuals who have been exposed to the study of fairy tales and thus expected to have some foreknowledge. In this article, the author claims that the ‘authenticity’ (para.6) of fairy tales are questionable, as they have been carefully manipulated in the19th century by writers, specifically the Grimm brothers, for ‘moral instructions’ (para.8) to children of that time. He supports his claim with the discovery of the original “forgotten… Schönwerth 's papers in the Regensburg historical archive” (para.6) which challenges the legitimacy of the Grimm brothers’ tales. However, the author’s credibility is disputable as he uses associative words in his assertions and is contradictory with his arguments.

Throughout the passage the author uses emotive words and phrases that express his attitude towards the authenticity of fairy tales. Firstly, he portrays sarcasm in his criticism of the Grimm brothers by using phrases with negative connotations like “remarkably unaltered” (para.1), “unremittingly sexist” (para.2) and “in abrupt contrast” (para.3). They demonstrate the writer’s biasness against the Grimm brothers’ tales, thus exposing the author’s skewed judgment. Furthermore, it is evident that the author favors Schönwerth 's tellings as he uses words like “thankfully” (para.9) and “enchanted” (para.9) to portray a better imagery of Schönwerth as compared to the Grimm brothers. Thus due to the author’s prejudice against the Grimm brothers and favoritism for Schönwerth, his integrity as an impartial writer is questionable.

The author also contradicts himself in his arguments against the Grimm brothers by displaying inconsistency in his stance. For example he claims that the Grimm brothers’ tales are “rooted in a tenacious and remarkably unaltered cultural tradition” (para.1), while arguing later on that “the (Grimm) tales were very consciously edited and re-edited’ (para.8). This shows that the author’s arguments are in direct contrast of each other, as being unaltered means that it has not been edited. His credibility as an objective author is debatable, since he is not firm on his opinion of the Grimm tales, and thus cannot provide consistency in his assertions.

Although the author provides insightful reasons for doubting the Grimm brothers’ authenticity, his arguments are laced with biased perceptions. He is clearly emotive and self-contradictory in his words, which cast doubts on his objectivity and impartiality as an author. Thus we have reason to question the reliability and credibility of the article.

Word Count: 443
References:
The Anti-Grimm. (2012, Apr 04). The Economist (Online), Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/965721055?accountid=28662

References: The Anti-Grimm. (2012, Apr 04). The Economist (Online), Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/965721055?accountid=28662